Kester James Finley's Blog, page 9
March 29, 2018
Random Book Review!-Jitters by Ken Stark
Ending on a high note, we take a look at Ken Stark’s, “Jitters” as it fits perfectly well into our trip down the mental lane showcased in March. Inner demons, check! Action sequences filled with horror, check! Insects, check! If you like your thrills and chills on the creepy crawler side of life, you can’t go wrong with Stark’s work. Check it out if you dare!
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4.0 out of 5 stars —Grab the bug spray, this tale of terror comes with teeth!
By Kester James Finley on March 29, 2018
Format: Kindle Edition
Ken Stark’s book Jitters takes readers on an action-packed short story through the creepy, the crawly, and the nauseatingly detailed that does nothing to address most readers’ fears of insects and things that may, or may not, come out of hiding when the lights go out. It does, however, serve up a chance for his readers to test the limits of their own intestinal fortitude to continue to the end of this skin itch-inducing tale and you will love every minute of the trip.
Right from the start, Stark makes no claims that this is going to be a cute and blossoming flower adventure for kids of all ages. The cover alone allows all who venture to his creation a skittering and scurrying clue as to what lies and wait for the bravest of readers and it is within the span of five pages that readers will very well wish for unicorns and rainbows to save them. I considered myself brave, a man who can handle just about anything, I was wrong, so very wrong.
Jitters introduces us to the main character of Harold, a man that Stark clearly and expertly details with such finesse that we can automatically determine that he is, “that guy,” a perfect representation of someone all of us either work with, live with, or know in passing. Harold is presented in such a way as to be relatable, a character we can understand for the human aspect, but someone we wouldn’t normally want to deal with in our daily lives. A character you love to hate or hate to love, Harold is seen as struggling with so many variables while displaying a personality that borders on the offensive it seems inevitable that he would soon be joined by, dare I say, a cast of thousands, none needing a name. The human aspect of Stark’s work gets the job done and allows his tale to ruthlessly weave through to its fitting conclusion.
The details within Jitters displays Stark’s expert talent of detailing the action sequences in such a way that readers will instantly feel nauseated from the raw truth of his words while comparing it all to their own experiences when dealing with the insect world. Every crunch, skitter, squeak, and pop is expertly outlined with a brilliant flare that will most certainly elicit a “yuck” or “gross” from many a reader while the action will keep their hearts racing and eyes glued to the pages.
While Jitters is a shorter read, Stark manages to pack enough punch within the pages to keep readers pressing on through the carnage he has masterfully created. There were a few grammar errors that may draw a reader from the book, but when it came down to it, I personally was thankful for the brief escape if only to check my own surroundings for any creepy crawlers.
If you are looking for a shorter read with enough action to satisfy, you would do well to give Jitters a try. Beware, however, that it will stick with you for days afterward and will leave you more cognizant of the insects in your own little world. The thrills and chills of Jitters are all due to Stark, the odd rustling of hairs on your body and that strange itch that wakes you up at night, well, that may be something else entirely. 
March 28, 2018
Random Image Day!-#29
The old saying, “In like a lion, out like a lamb,” seems to hold true for most people in the South. We started with gusty winds and mini cold snaps, now nothing more than a meek breeze and sunshine. As Easter approaches, we watch the candy fly off the shelves as our “Snow Birds” make their mass exodus back to their home states along with all the orange juice and toilet paper their motorhomes can carry.
We are blessed with the serene beauty of Florida spring knowing that our roadways will be nearly empty in the coming weeks and that for one brief moment, the state is ours to enjoy. It is normally in these moments that we are torn, conflicted, forced to see the glass as empty, yet nearly full. Spring is blooming everywhere and the sun shines brightly, yet the pollen coats the skin and eyes, the walls and the cars as if Mother Nature herself is coughing out against all humanity. Sneezes abound, and red-eyes galore.
We feel the beauty of warm days and cool nights, yet we know that the scorching oppressive heat of summer is putting on its makeup just off stage left awaiting our demise when it barrels from the heavens with boiling steering wheels and skyrocketing air conditioning bills. We will prevail, we always do, but what about the characters in our works in progress? Will they survive their own dilemmas long enough to enjoy the fruits of our labor, or will they need to turn inward for some serious soul searching before finally being free?
As Mental March draws to a close, we’re taking a look at the “dilemma”, “the choice”, or the “moment of tearing,” within ourselves and namely our creations. Our characters tend to be reflections of ourselves or people we know, we get inside their heads and force them into positions most people would never find themselves in normally as we test strengths and drives of each one to continue the quest, the adventure, the story. It’s our lot in life to drive wedges into their lives and to nitpick them on all levels mentally, physically, and emotionally. We love it, our readers do too!
No written piece of fiction is complete without the dilemma, the big choice, the moment we see characters bend like a reed or snap and fly off into the sky, their breaking point if you will. How mentally strong our characters are, and the obstacles they face inside and out are a writer’s playground and there are no rules when it comes to destroying or lifting up a character. We’ve all read about them, we’ve all seen them. Run left or run right? Chose the vampire or the wolf? Save others, save yourself? Do you go, do you stay? All show that a writer is trying at least to get inside a character’s mind, to force them into making a decision and it should always be something we strive to include in our own work. People love a good dilemma, a hard choice, an obstacle that carries emotional burdens when it comes to characterization, heck most of us are already these people in waiting within our adult lives, heck most of us just secretly hope a ghostwriter chooses for us.
In your writing, are your characters clones of people you know, or yourself? Are they fully fleshed out or so simple they appear as cardboard cutouts across your envisioned world? Do they have hopes and dreams, fears and regrets that bound them to earth, but still need to make tough choices or bad decisions to rise above it all? The mind is a veritable well of useful tips and tricks to incorporate into our work, choose wisely or throw darts at a list of mental issues, it’s all good, and will be when you allow yourself to venture inside the mind, theirs and yours.
March 22, 2018
Random Image Day!-#28
Wednesday snuck up behind me and sucker punched me into totally forgetting about posting a new image and a wordy little offering for all my lovely followers. I do apologize, adulting doesn’t come with instructions, though it should.
March 19, 2018
March 16, 2018
Random Book Review!-Wizard Bound by Adam and Christian Boustead
Offering up poems that center on fantasy and the magical/supernatural world we’ve come to love through the ages Adam and Christian Boustead’s Wizard Bound is a great collection of poems that take fantasy lover’s back to the day of video games, movies, comics, love of folklore, mythical creatures, and magic!
It’s Mental March’s first review, and instead of looking for the crazy characters we create in our writing, we’re focusing on looking way back to our younger years of too much soda and hoping a dice roll would save our beloved Paladin from an angry orc! Afterall, our childhoods directly relate to how we are as adults, it’s all related! It’s a lovely trip to fantasy worlds and supernatural entities and one that I hope you enjoy if you’re into poems and that genre. Listed below is the review along with links! Enjoy!
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Wizard Bound by Adam and Christian Boustead is a collection of poems written to satisfy the fantasy lover in all of us by providing poems that not only linger on the imagination but shine a light into a magical world that has endured for countless ages.
The collection of work provided by both Adam and Christian remains light in its approach to attract readers of all ages but the extent of powerful lyrical accomplishments within Wizard Bound will entice lovers of fantasy and those who fondly remember the movies, the role-playing games, and the fascination of magical worlds and supernatural beings from our long-forgotten childhoods.
Adam and Christian expertly detail the world of fantasy in all its glory including mythical creatures, supernatural beings, medieval settings, and even odes to novelists Ursula Le Guin and Alex Garner within their collection of poems showcasing not only their talent, but their overall understanding and love of the genre and the lifetime of loyalty that comes with this fascinating world of magic, Gods, and creatures of myth. The pieces within Wizard Bound, although seeming to be mainly geared for young adult audiences, will still touch older readers with nuances and nostalgia and fascinate with its additional work in the realm of Japanese folklore and RPG video games.
An easy read to most, Wizard Bound may seem like simple poetry but within its magical offerings, readers will find deeper meanings and understandings for some of our most cherished memories, lessons, and fears. Thought provoking as well as enjoyable, Wizard Bound can be considered a perfect addition to any fantasy lover’s collection, a touching tribute to the mythical and supernatural worlds we have followed and learned from, and a great introduction to readers who are just starting their journey into poetic offerings. It may not be perfect for all, but for those of us who live and breathe wonderment and magical places beyond our own reality, it’s an engrossing trip through several areas of the fantasy genre and one you would be foolish not to buy a ticket to enjoy.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2329689038
https://www.amazon.com/review/R1DZV8E3RKR9TP/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv
Haiku Friday – Slim & Chance — The Writer Next Door|Vashti Q
Slim and Chance are this week’s prompt words chosen by Ronovan Hester of Ronovan Writes. Ron hosts a challenge that anyone could participate in called Ronovan Writes Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenge every Monday, and you have until Sunday to create a post featuring your haiku poem. He is an author and poet and also does […]
via Haiku Friday – Slim & Chance — The Writer Next Door|Vashti Q
March 14, 2018
Random Image Wednesday!-#27
The inner conflict of the characters that we write about, as well as the ones we’ve read about in some of our favorite books, can make or break the overall feel of a piece of fiction. When it comes to writing and reading about the working mind of characters it seems, too jumbled and we feel lost, too simplistic and we end up not caring. We, as writers, must push to develop characters that are real, broken and loveable, scarred and charismatic. We must work to create people in our work that others would and could relate to, characters that speak to the masses on a myriad of levels for everyone is different and all of us carry some form of inner turmoil just below the surface.
As we travel the roads this month focusing on Mental March, we’re stopping at a little place called, “Within”, and taking in the sights. In your favorite books, as well as the ones you’re writing or have written, what was the driving force of your main characters? Did they suffer from an illness, a phobia, a conflict that would hinder them from continuing their journey that needed to be overcome, dramatized, or countered? It doesn’t matter if they are set in 1942 or streaking to other planets aboard a spaceship shaped like a banana, what was inside their heads? Writers need to step out of their own safety zones and focus on the inner workings of their characters, for the more real they become, the more readers tend to gravitate towards them.
In the realm of psychology, the human condition, and our own driving forces, there are hundreds of factors pushing us in one direction or another. By focusing on the human aspect of our characters, we can generate a sense of what it’s like living in their shoes and bring them into our world for inspection. Each character does not need some conflict to make them real, however, but each should at least differ from the others in our created fiction work. Could you imagine reading a book where all the characters are exactly alike and no one has a single mental thought that differs?
When it comes to issues of the mind and inner conflict, one does not need to develop a character that expertly details every classification code listed in the DSM-IV to make them real, but having some inner turmoil is key to developing a character that others will enjoy. Think about some of your favorite books and I can almost guarantee the characters there had some mental issue they were struggling with or some inner conflict that spurned them into action, a driving force, a moment of focus. Get into your characters’ heads, it may be a little dark and dusty, but I assure you that deep within you may find them closer to the people you already know that you ever thought possible, maybe even a reflection of you.
These posts will be about showcasing a random picture I find in the hopes of inspiring others to create ideas for their writing. Sometimes I provide the picture and randomly prattle on about something I find interesting, sometimes I do more than my fair share.
I have found that generating a quick 1-3 sentence scenario, a blurb, a scene, or a full novel concept based on a random picture has worked wonders in opening up the floodgates to new ideas and enjoyment in the world of fiction. It is my hope that others will find these images and possibly be inspired to jump into the wild world of writing and become the author they always wanted to be.
Without further ado, our 27th entry!-
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Photo Credit-Kylli Sparre
March 10, 2018
#RRBC Spotlight Author Flossie Benton Rogers Stops By! — The Indie Spot!
Greetings, readers! Today I am excited to introduce to you author Flossie Benton Rogers. Flossie is the March 2018 RRBC Spotlight Author, and a master of dark fantasy romance. Take it away, Flossie… Mystical Beings in the Wytchfae Series The mystical beings in the Wytchfae series are usually loosely based on mythology, although they tend to develop […]
via #RRBC Spotlight Author Flossie Benton Rogers Stops By! — The Indie Spot!
March 7, 2018
Random Image Wednesday!-#26
March has descended upon the lands as spring follows quickly in its wake. Green is beginning to fight through the browns of our winter memories while gray skies have cleared to hues of peach and cloudless blue. The new life starts to emerge as blossoms yawn into the morning sun.
For some, it’s still bitterly cold with only the promise of warmer weather whispered in the breeze. For those of us down South, the pollen is busy laughing maniacally at its control over our ability to breeze properly through both nostrils and desire to itch our eyes to blindness. The weather has changed, and with it, a new month of thrills and chills, fun, and frivolity! This month, we’re focusing on the mental and using images from Kylli Sparre’s brilliant work that seems to denote one part dance, one part art, and two parts fantasy within us all.
As writers, we tend to be introverted more than most. In our minds, a constant churning machine of creativity working in all directions at once. Some of us appear aloof, others critically timid, but for us, all writing is a piece of us, a large one that almost becomes a living vessel attached to our very souls, one we’ve created from thin air and continue to feed.
Much like art in any other medium, we create. Some good, some flawed, but with the dotting of an “i” and the typing of a sentence, we are bringing things to life much like spring does for nature. This month, as we travel the world of writing and creating, take a moment to turn inward. What drives you? What makes you want to write? This month, it’s all about the mental, it’s all about you! The book reviews this month will also focus on our own mental issues, some devilishly delicious, others broke and destroyed, but all stemming from the power within us all. Welcome to Mental March, have a think and join the fun!
These posts will be about showcasing a random picture I find in the hopes of inspiring others to create ideas for their writing. Sometimes I provide the picture and randomly prattle on about something I find interesting, sometimes I do more than my fair share.
I have found that generating a quick 1-3 sentence scenario, a blurb, a scene, or a full novel concept based on a random picture has worked wonders in opening up the floodgates to new ideas and enjoyment in the world of fiction. It is my hope that others will find these images and possibly be inspired to jump into the wild world of writing and become the author they always wanted to be.
Without further ado, our 26th entry!-[image error]
Photo Credit- “Running with the fairies,” Kylli Sparre. October 8th, 2013.
March 6, 2018
#RRBC Writers’ Conference & Book Expo REGISTRATION OPEN
The annual RRBC Writers’ Conference and Book Expo is open for registration. via REGISTER NOW! #RRBC #WCBE
If you are an Indie Author or a Traditionally Published Author, a blogger, a reader or an aspiring writer, you will gain invaluable information by attending this Virtual Conference.
AND, you can attend in your favorite pajamas as you never leave your home. No expensive hotel bills or meals. Just a plethora of great information, ideas, and writing tips. The added bonus is getting to discover new authors! So, register today!
Register for the 3rd Annual RRBC Writers’ Conference & Book Expo
